Where the Rich Kids Come to Die
by jessxreality
Summary: My story of me and my vampire best friends. You know how it is, they thinks its funny to jump on top of cars and race down the freeway, we get sent to a vampire military school where i almost get killed and meet my gorgous mentor. sure, normal?
1. Chapter 1 Intro to Vampires

Disclaimer – Everything in this story is mine. Characters, places, etc. So, no stealing please. Also, if anything in this story seems to relate to anything real life event or someone else's story, that is purely coincidental (I don't plagiarise – it goes against everything I stand for in writing).

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If that's one thing I've noticed about vampires, they can't stand still

Chapter 1 – Run down on Vampires

If there's one thing I've noticed about vampires, they can't stand still. Which is actually very stupid considering they've had centuries of practice. Jack just kept hovering and it was extremely irritating considering I was trying to read _Twilight_ and needed my Edward fix. That's another thing I've noticed, vampires in books are so much dreamier than in real life. Exhibit 1 – Edward – pale skin, copper hair, topaz eyes, toned body, cool manner, and sweet chivalry. Exhibit 2 – Jack – unbrushed ruffled blonde hair, sleepy violet (vampire thing) eyes, lanky body, a nervous stress head, and totally crude. Case closed.

"Oh, for Christ sake, just sit down, Jack," I muttered.

"You don't believe in Christ," he shot back. I rolled my eyes. He always took everything so literally.

"I was thinking of you. Now, will you please sit? You're driving me crazy."

"Why can't I pace? You know I get nervous when Mitch is in there too long."

"First of all, he hasn't been in there too long, it's been less than half an hour. And secondly, you're always nervous. So at least stop irritating me and sit. Then you can worry all to yourself and let me read."

"I can never understand why you read," Jack said, sitting beside me with a huff.

"Well, perhaps if you stop worrying about Mitch for two seconds, you'll remember I'm human and like reading."

"What are you reading anyway?" Jack asked, leaning over my knees to see the front cover. Being a vampire, personal space wasn't such a huge thing for him – even if I was human. In fact, I think that's why he liked being so close to me, he knew it irritated me and liked my reaction. "Twilight?" he frowned, reading the cover. "I've heard of that."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised."

"Why have I heard that before?" Jack asked. For a vampire, he possibly had the worst memory of all time.

"Because it's huge. Just about every English speaking teen girl knows what it is."

"Oh," Jack frowned again. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. "Oh," the realisation dawning on his face, "Kayla has read it. I've seen it in her room."

"Yeah, I borrowed it off her." Kayla was Jack's little sister (yes, also a vampire, with an age difference of about thirty years).

"What's it about?" he asked.

"Vampires," I grinned. Jack rolled his eyes and slunk down in his chair.

"Let me guess, it's all crosses, pale skin, sunlight, garlic and an undesirable thirst for blood? You know all those novels are just regurgitations of the myths. And all the myths are wrong."

"This book actually has it surprisingly close," I told him.

"Is that so?" Jack asked, looking sceptical.

"Well, they do have the pale skin, but they can go out in sunlight. Although they sort of glitter when sun hits them-"

"That's meant to be faeries. Faeries glitter when sun hits them," Jack interjected.

"I know that, but the author doesn't, now, as I was saying, the vampires in this story don't have any aversion to garlic or crosses. Stakes don't do anything, same as holy water. They're super human with strength, hearing, sight and smell. They don't need sleep" -Jack snorted, I rolled my eyes- "and they live forever without aging."

"Why is it that humans have such a fascination with immortality?" Jack asked.

"And this is coming from an eighty year old vampire who still looks like a young Leonardo DiCaprio?" I asked looking at Jack with a smug expression.

"You think I look like a young Leonardo DiCarprio?" Jack asked. Now he had the smug expression. I rolled my eyes and Jack grinned. "You think I'm hot."

"You're a vampire. It's a given."

"Yeah, but you've never said it."

"And I still haven't said it."

"You implied it."

"I was trying to get a point across."

"Even if you were, you implied I was hot."

"I believe we were talking about immortality," I reminded him. Jack's smile increased, but he left the topic alone. He already knew he'd won.

"Well, anyway, just because I live for a long time, it doesn't mean I'm immortal. I'm going to die someday, just a little later than you are."

"Yeah, which means I'm stuck with you for the rest of my life. What a joy," I said with mock sarcasm.

"You so love it," Jack grinned, tickling me. I pushed him away, laughing, and stood.

"Another thing in _Twilight,_ there's the whole thirst for blood. I know how much you hate that, but in the story if serves a purpose. The main vampire wants to kill his girlfriend because her blood smells good to him."

"But it's so unrealistic," Jack countered. "I mean, it's like you wanting a piece of chocolate cake in a cake store. Sure, you want it, but just because you don't have it doesn't mean you are going to go on some crazy rampage and eat all the chocolate cake in a store. It's just so stupid Hollywood makes this bloodlust out to be some sort of desperate desire. It's just a food source."

"Yeah, but it sounds better if a vampire is trying to stop himself from killing a girl he loves because her blood smells good to him."

"I just don't think it makes any sense."

"Well, you are a vampire, so that might have some influence," I told Jack.

"I guess," Jack shrugged. I smiled at him and glanced over at the reception desk. There was a young woman vampire sitting on an office chair, typing at her computer. She only looked maybe seventeen, but that meant she was probably sixty or so. In any case, in the company she was in, she was still a puppy.

"Do you have any idea how much longer Mitch will be?" I asked. The receptionist looked up at me with nothing more than a disgusted look on her face and said in a rude – yet very silky – voice,

"Can't be sure."

"Gee, thanks for all your help," I muttered sarcastically. I walked to the desk and put my hands on the high bench top. The receptionist – her name tag said Mary – looked up at me and pursed her lips.

"Was there something I could help you with?" she asked in an uptight voice.

"Well, you've been pretty useless so far, so I doubt it, but perhaps you could be so kind as to call your boss and ask him how long Mitch will be. Unlike you, I don't have the next five hundred years to spend playing solitaire on the computer when I'm meant to be working." I gave a sweet smile and cocked my head to the side. Mary's face dropped and I saw her grit her teeth.

"My boss told me not to interrupt this conference for anything. That included pathetic humans like you. So sit down and wait." Mary mimicked my sweet smile and did a little twitch of her head towards Jack. I narrowed my eyes, ready to spit out the next smart-ass comment that came into my head when Jack placed a hand on the small of my back and said,

"Jess, let's listen to the nice lady and sit down." I turned my gaze on him.

"Don't patronise me," I muttered angrily, huffing off to one of the few seats in the waiting room and taking out my book. Jack sat next to me and slouched in his chair.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. I sighed.

"Yeah, me too. I didn't mean to snap."

"Hey," Jack grinned. "You're only human."

"Bad joke," I muttered, but couldn't stop the small smile forming on my face. That was when the doors opened. Jack stood in a second, watching carefully. I closed my book and waited. Mitch came out, stooped, with one hand in his pocket and an expression on his face that said, I'm-in-it-up-to-my-neck-this-time. Jack was probably the better looking one out of Mitch and him, but never had the confidence Mitch had, so therefore the girls didn't flock around Jack like they did Mitch. In any case Mitch was still good looking by any human standards. He had the soft golden skin, dark hair and yellow (vampire thing) eyes. He was tall, but not too tall and always dressed well. Jack on the other had and pale skin, violet eyes (all the girls loved), blonde hair and was always wearing scruffy clothes. But then, he was the sort of guy who could pull it off.

"What did you get?" Jack asked as Mitch walked towards us.

"Ahh…" Mitch said, stalling for time.

"You screwed it up this time, didn't you?" I asked. "There're sending you to Wicker's, aren't they?"

"Um… sort of," Mitch said, finally meeting my eyes.

"Great, now who am I supposed to go clubbing with?" Jack muttered. I rolled my eyes and said,

"Seriously, I don't think that's the main problem here."

"Well, Jack, you won't be clubbing with anyone. At least, not for a while," Mitch said.

"Why not?" Jack looked outraged. But it had already clicked in my head. Mitch wasn't the only one going to Wicker's.

"You're coming too. And… I hate to say this Jess, but Dad thinks it would be best if you came as well."

"What?" My mouth fell open. I heard Mary the Receptionist snicker. I turned on Jack. "I blame you. You've ruined my life. I swear to you, if I come out of that place with one nick on any part of my body, you are going to be a dead vampire. A very dead vampire. And I don't care if your super human, I'll find a way." With that, I turned on my heels and walked noisily out of the lobby.

Let me give you the low down on real vampires. Sure, surprisingly Stephanie Meyer did pretty well in getting the facts right, but then what she wrote was only her take on things, this is the real story. Sure, vampires usually have pale skin, but that's simply from sleeping all-day and partying all night. Not because of some genetic reason. And after the first two hundred years or so they usual grow out of that and join normal society.

And no, vampires arn't some huge threat to humans. Sure, they drink human blood and have the whole super powers thing going on, but really, they don't hurt humans. I mean, they drink blood, but that comes from donors who know all about the vampire thing and are willing to have themselves used (not without compensation) as living vending machines. No, I'm not one of those people; if I were I'd probably want to kill myself. I'm not exactly a fan of having people suck on my neck, thanks. Especially when those people have fangs and are taking blood.

Anyway, as I was saying, garlic, crosses, holy water, sunlight, stakes etc. have no real effect on vampires. Well, maybe if you poked the cross into a vampires eye it might irritate them, but that's about it. And while vampires have prolonged life, they aren't immortal. They die (eventually) and age (excruciatingly slowly). Though they are pretty hard to kill – their immune systems are crazy good. Trust me, I've seen Mitch heal a stab wound (yeah, he thought it would be funny to scare the crap out me).

There's no turning into bats or any other sort of magic. And no, (contrary to popular belief) you can't be turned into a vampire through a bite (if you could there would be millions of vampires and in that case, not enough humans for food, hence why evolutionary features mean that vampires aren't created through a bite). But you can be turned, because vampires aren't technically a new species, they are simply an upgraded model of humans.

Scientists think this was some sort of genetic mutation that happened during the evolution of humans when there was a food shortage. It was a sort of coping mechanism. If you create things that eat humans, the population decreases, meaning more food. And that's also the reason why vampires are physically superior – they were hunters so they needed to be stronger and faster than humans. But then that's just one theory.

If you go by religion, it's thought that vampires were the devil's spies. Although not many vampires believe that because a lot of vampires are religious anyway (ironic, I know, but I've, met a priest who was a vampire, he was over four-hundred-years-old, I swear).

Technically vampires aren't dead either. They still have blood and they breathe and all that. Honestly, they really are just humans with a few add on features. A vampire walking down the street would look not much different to a human. Any normal human wouldn't be able to pick the two apart.

The only reason vampires hide from normal society (hence why none of you will have heard of real vampires other than the ones from books like _Twilight_) is because humans are frequently afraid of things they don't understand. Imagine if you were told vampires really did exist and they sucked blood and have super human strength, speed, hearing, smell, sight and touch. Yeah, you'd probably freak out before anyone could explain that there really wasn't any harm.

Now, you might wonder why I'm then explaining all this to you if secrecy was so important. Well, I like writing and felt like putting my story down. And why shouldn't people read it. It's an interesting story. And I get the feeling people who've read Twilight will have a somewhat better understanding of what I'm talking about and be able to relate.

And besides, if I put this on a _fiction_ site, so how many people are actually going to believe me. To most it will just be an interesting story. And that's fine with me. But then who knows if this is just fiction? I guess I can let you judge. This first chapter is really just a lead in. Mitch and Jack are two of my best friends. Yeah, I know, my best friends are vampires, it already sounds unbelievable, but you just wait until you meet Audrey.

Anyway, Mitch is cocky, arrogant and most of the time a total dick head. And his father happens to be on the Board (the vampire's equivalent of government). And let's just say Mitch has done some stupid things. Things stupid enough to get us kicked to Wicker's. And this, in both human and vampire minds, is a bad thing.

I've decided not to mention any place names in case this does happen to get picked up by the random searches the Vampire Board always has running in order to find anything like this that might put their secrecy in jeopardy. Honestly, I couldn't care, the Board owes me anyway. And I'm fairly sure their searches won't pick this up because I've changed the names of my friends. The only thing they might look for is Wicker's but I typed that into Google and there were heaps of hits, so I'm thinking I'm safe.

And it's not like vampire is an uncommon thing to come up on the Internet. Especially with _Twilight_ practically becoming a cult. Another reason why I decided to publish this on a fiction site. It sort of acts as a safety net. How many people believe the stuff written on fiction websites? So anyway, just one more note to all you _Twilight_ fans, I'm also a huge fan of Edward, but in real life vampires aren't so perfectly good looking, and yes, there are some very good looking guys in my story (with the perfect immune systems of vampires they generally are more good looking than most of the human population) but Edward is too perfect for anyone – human or vampire – to measure up to.

And if you're looking for a Jacob equivalent in this story… well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not a huge fan of werewolves, they are rude and loud (well, sure, that's a generalisation, but from the few I've met it there seems to be a trend). And werewolves usual keep to themselves, living in small outback communities. I've only met a few since I found out about this whole new world and they were all intimidating and crass (a few of them trying to come on to me since I was the only human within range – they don't usually go for vampires, not because of a hatred or anything, just because, honestly, vampires are way out of their league).

Hold up – Jack's calling me. He doesn't know how to turn on the oven. He's an eighty-year-old vampire and I'm more competent than him. Actually, it might be better if he doesn't know how to turn on the oven. At least then it might be a little less impossible for him to burn the kitchen down (again). Well, I'll get back to telling you about Wicker's next time.

See ya.

Please R+R. I'm dieing to write more of my story.


	2. Chapter 2 Wicker's Military Academy

Chapter 2 – Wicker's

Chapter 2 – Wicker's

If there's one thing I know about vampires, it's that most of them are gossips. But then, you can hardly blame them when they live for so long. Still, it's pretty annoying when you are the only human (who isn't a donor) that happens to be sent to a juvenile vampire delinquent military school. I think I hate my life. Really.

"Oh, come on, it isn't that bad," Jack tried to amend.

"Did I mention how much I hate you?" I asked with a cheesy fake smile.

"I you might've said it a few times," Mitch muttered lazily from his position across from me.

"Okay, you don't get to talk either, Mitch. I hate you too," I told him.

"Seriously, it isn't like this is the end of the world," Jack said, still trying to be the good guy.

"Um, maybe this slipped your mind, but I'm HUMAN. You know, those creatures you FEED off. Perhaps you can see the dilemma of sending me into a private military school with other even-more-screwed-than-you vampires."

"They won't touch you. If they do the teachers will probably kill them," Mitch said with a wave of the hand. I gritted my teeth.

"Yeah, only after I've been drained of blood."

"You're so over dramatic," Mitch rolled his eyes.

"Over dramatic!" I exploded. "You were the one who threw yourself over an overpass and onto a moving car just for kicks! Oh yeah, and rode the top of that car down the FREEWAY!" Mitch and Jack both smiled at the memory. Vampires. Un-freaking-believable. They were lucky it didn't hit the news. The vampire board managed to keep it low key. Only just.

"The gate's coming up in five minutes. Get ready to get out," the driver said from the front seat. We were in a huge SUV with dark tinted windows and a driver who looked more like a bear than a vampire he was so huge. Wicker's is slightly out of the way of any civilisation. Okay, it's way out. Far enough considering it was full of delinquent vampires. And one human. Please kill me now.

I fell back into my sullen silence. Mitch and Jack began talking about nothing, sounding like normal human teenagers. So not right. I turned to look out the window and watched as my doom came closer in the form of trees whooshing past.

Wicker's is the kind of place that would make your jaw drop to the floor if you happened to stumble across it hiking (although I'd feel for anyone who went hiking around this area). It sat on top a hill and was surrounded by a forest of huge pine trees. It wasn't the Gothic type building most people associate with vampires, it looked more like a modern hotel.

It was long with four or five stories and windows all along the face. The outside was rendered white with doors and balconies appearing, seemingly random, on the side. The roof was a simple dark tile with a few antennas.

Then, the grounds were a whole lot of paths and few sports grounds. In fact, it sort of looked like a school. Except for the massive wire fence surrounding it with barbed wire and guard towers. Gee, I love that feeling of trust (although I don't trust anyone in that place either – except Jack and Mitch).

The road passing under us was nothing but a thin strip of winding dirt squashed between way too may pine trees. It made the whole trip seem dark and gloomy even though, when you tipped your head up, the sky was blue. Or maybe that was just my state of mind. I can't be sure.

We reached the gate where there was a bit of a clearing and some guards with heavy looking weapons came and checked our driver's ID and the forms he held for our release from the driver to the guards at the gate.

I hadn't realised how hard my heart was beating until Jack put his hand on mine and said,

"Hey, calm down. We'll protect you." Of course he'd heard my heart rate. It was like a siren to him. I was immediately embarrassed and looked down, pulling my hand out from under his. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jack frown for a moment before turning back to Mitch. Mitch only sniggered and said,

"Some how I don't think she wants a vampire's comfort." What I wanted was to go home with my normal human family. But the thing is, they agreed I needed some scaring. My own family. There's love for you. Apparently I was to 'frivolous' with my life.

Yeah, my family knows all about the vampire thing. My parents are friends with Jack's parents and all that. Actually, my parents are doctors and they were let in on the secret so they'd be able to treat the vampires. There's sort of a problem that every time a doctor makes an incision it heals before he can blink. My parents (my mum a cardiothoracic surgeon and my dad more general) were both trained in vampire medicine. If a normal doctor happened to cut into a vampire they might realise something was wrong when they saw that their heart rate was something between 5-10 beats per minutes and that would end up with huge problems. Problems the Board didn't want or need to deal with. So my parents are the answer. There are a few of people like my parents in almost every hospital in the world just in a case a vampire gets sent to one. That resident 'vampire' doctor will recognise the symptoms and take care of the vampire, as well as alert the Board.

"I'm sorry we got you into this," Jack said, trying to get through to me. I nodded and turned my head away, concentrating on slowing my breathing and calming my heart.

The car slowed, as we got closer to Wicker's. I could see people looking out from their windows, no doubt tyring to catch as glimpse at the newbies. And the human. The car stopped at the front of two double doors. Jack, Mitch and I all got out, slowly, wary.

The double doors opened and a thin, wiry man stepped out to greet us. He had thinning hair and pale papery skin, as if he spent too much time inside. He looked maybe fifty or so (meaning he could be anywhere between four hundred to eight hundred years old in vampire time), and wore a nice clean pressed suit that looked as if it had been folded and set in cement.

But it was his face that was the scariest thing about him. It was thin and narrow, with eyebrows so light they were almost non-existent, ice blue eyes and pursed lips. His jaw sat on an angle to the left of his face, as if he's been punched and his jaw never quite went back into the right place. When he tried to smile it came out looking like a lopsided grimace.

"Hello," the man said in a smooth voice. He held his hand out for Jack and Mitch, who both took it, but not for me. I wasn't sure if that was because I was female, or because I was human. In any case, I ignored it. "I am Director Reed."

"Good morning, sir," the driver said, pulling out bags from the boot of the car and dumping them at our feet.

"Thank you, Karl," the Director acknowledged, before turning back on us. "I expect the drive was pleasant?" This wasn't a question. This was a challenge. A test.

"Yes," Jack answered. Mitch just nodded. I stood stiffly. Then, a few boys came out from the double doors. Two, to be specific. They moved forward, standing a few feet behind the Director. Without turning the Director said,

"This is Theo and Vladimir." Theo was a South American looking boy, about seventeen or eighteen (in vampire years that's about eighty or so – the same as Jack), with beautiful russet coloured skin, dark hair and thick features. He looked over Jack and Mitch with nothing more than a glance, but threw a smile my way, making me feel a little less doomed, but also uneasy. Vladimir was a little older (I assumed from the name he was Russian), also with dark hair, but strangely porcelain-like features and light skin. He kept his gaze ahead, not looking at anyone.

Both of the boys wore casual clothes, which surprised me. Vladimir wore very clean cut and nicely pressed jeans with a polo shirt. Theo on the other hand looked a little ragged, with scruffy shorts and a shirt, the top few buttons undone (revealing a very nice looking chest), and the sleeves rolled up (showing off some perfectly sculpted biceps).

"Theo, Vladimir," the Director said, "This is Jackson, Mitchell and Jessica. You will escort them to their dorms in a moment." He turned back on us. "We have a few rules which you will be expected to stick to. You will attend all classes. There is no contact with the opposite sex other than meal times and anything else that is approved. Other than that, Theo and Vladimir and can explain the rest. Now, I must see to other matters." And with that, the Director turned and disappeared. I was stunned. Firstly, that the Director seemed to be a complete tosser. Secondly, that we were left unguarded. From what I could tell it was just us five kids (well the word 'kid' can be debated, but in the vampire world, all the vampires here were still classed as adolescents).

Vladimir and Theo both moved forward and picked up our bags (even though there were about six – four for me, one for each of the boys – they had no problem) with a grace that made me jealous. Vladmir led the way saying,

"Follow me please." Theo on the other hand, sidled up next to me (two bags thrown over his shoulder and another in his hand) and asked,

"So, what did you guys do to get in here?"

"In my case, it was just the company that got me sent here," I answered, throwing a glare at Mitch and Jack.

"Come on," Mitch rolled his eyes lazily. "As you've never done anything stupid with us before. You were the one who came up with the nightclub plan."

"Nightclub plan?" Theo enquired. I groaned and said,

"Yeah, okay, that was me. But that wasn't so bad."

"Are you kidding?" Jack interjected. "You got those faeries so mad they were ready to turn you into some kind of animal."

"Yeah, well, the faery thing didn't work out so well."

"And you so almost fell for Ryan," Mitch grinned.

"That wasn't my fault. He was messing with my head." Ryan was a particularly beautiful faery who had taken advantage of my slightly drunken state that night.

"You would have gone for him anyway if I hadn't stopped you," Jack pointed out.

"No, I wouldn't have. He was hot, but I'm not a complete idiot." Okay, so I honestly wouldn't have minded going a little further, and Jack was right, I wouldn't have stopped Ryan – even if I was sober. He was a faery. Give me a break.

"Whatever," Mitch, the mediator, said. We were now inside the huge school like building, and thing was, it did look exactly like a school. There was a small lobby area with a receptionist, then stairs that went up and down, and corridors to the left and right. And I realised why we hadn't been accompanied. We didn't need to be. There were very fit looking vampire guards everywhere. And I mean, EVERYWHERE. We turned left and followed the seemingly never-ending corridor with rooms on either side.

"So, you're human," Theo mentioned. I looked at him and said,

"Really?" I looked myself up and down with a mock frown. "And all these years I hadn't noticed until you pointed that out."

"Gee, sorry," Theo said with hurt in his voice, "but we've never had a human in Wicker's before."

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you make friends with vampires," I muttered, my mood falling back into the sullen sulkiness it was before.

"Don't be bitch, Jess," Mitch said. "He's just trying to be nice."

"I honestly don't care. I just want to serve my time and get out of this place. It's not fair, I don't have prolonged life like you guys. The time you spend in here is nothing compared to the time I spend in here. This is a huge chunk out of my relatively short life."

"Oh, stop whinging about being human. You love hanging out with us," Jack said.

"Whatever," I muttered, knowing he was right.

"This is the girl's dorm," Vladimir said, dropping the bags he was carrying at my feet and pointing to a door that said 'Female Dormitory'.

"Never would've guessed," I said under my breath, knowing very well that with the vampire hearing all of the boys would know what I'd said.

"Stop being such a smart ass," Jack said as he leaned forward and kissed the top of my head. That was the sort of person he was. Caring, nervous and very cute. Mitch poked me in the side of my stomach, tickling me, and making me jump.

"Good luck, loser. Try not to get yourself eaten," he said with a grin.

"This way," Vladimir said stiffly and turned away, striding down the corridor with even steps. Theo smiled at me again and shrugged. Then they all turned and began walking away. I waited until I could no longer see them or hear them before picking up my bags and opening the door. When I saw what was inside, I promptly dropped my bags. My mouth fell open too.

"Are you insane!" I yelled, running forward without much thought. I've noticed that about me. I'm very impulsive. Too impulsive for my own good. Inside the dorm it was fairly clean, with an out-of-place fireplace, high windows with bars, scarce furniture and one TV (bolted to the wall I might add). And on the far wall was a small vampire girl (who looked fairly harmless) pinned up by metal spokes in her hands and feet – a lot like the crucifixion of Jesus (in fact there was some speculation that Jesus might have been a vampire with the way his hands healed so quickly, but that's just a rumour). I knew technically those wounds wouldn't be all that major and would heal in a day or so, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt the poor girl.

"Excuse me," one girl said, turning on me. Around the girl pinned to the wall was a gang of older, much tougher looking girls. All of them had various piercings and tattoos, looking bulky and harsh. I just realised how stupid it was of me to run in there and try to save that poor girl considering I'm a weak little human and this was gang of fairly unstable super human vampires. Like I said, impulsiveness will probably kill me one day.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, my body still acting on impulse (it hadn't quite caught up to my brain yet). The girl that had spoken was actually quite small, but she radiated confidence. She was obviously the ringleader. She moved towards me with a walk I thought belonged to a hooker – seductive, persuasive but also very self-assured.

"Do you have a problem with what we are doing to Emma?" she asked, moving very close to me. She was an inch or so shorter than me, yet she still managed to be impending. She looked younger than me too, but that meant in vampire years she was a lot older. She was in tight black jeans that melded around her body, sneakers, and a tight black shirt with the words _kiss my ass_ printed on the front. Well, I could see this was a case of teenager trying to rebel against their parents. Immediately I was comforted. She was all talk (well I knew she could hurt – as was evident) but she was obviously nothing more than another terrified teenager looking for control and acceptance. I knew how to deal with her type. Sure, she had control because she intimidated others, but as soon as someone spoke out against her, she'd fall apart. I'd see it too many times.

"Yes, actually, I do. What's your problem?" The only problem was that I didn't have anyone to back me up. If Jack and Mitch were here it might be better, but at the moment I was clutching at straws.

"What are you planning to do about it?" the girl said to me.

"What's your name?" I asked casually. The girl looked stunned by my question. She was pretty, in a very modern way, with high cheekbones, soft light skin, dark eyes and tumbling brown hair. If she washed off all that make up she'd actually look very beautiful.

"What's it to you?"

"Well, I'll need it so I'm can inform my friends of you. It's blatantly obvious I wont be able to get Emma down, but like I said, I have friends."

"Wait." A look of recognition dawned on the girl's face. "You're the human they sent." She let out a crackling laugh. "A human. What a joke. They said you'd be arriving today."

"Well, here I am."

"And you want to save Emma, do you? Be another stupid human just like the rest of them?"

"Apparently."

"Do you want to be up there too?"

"Personally, I'm not really a fan of the whole crucifixion thing," I told her. "But I'm willing to bargain."

"Bargain?"

"Yeah, you know, compromise."

"I know what you mean," the girl snapped. She seemed interested. "Bargain what exactly?"

"I'm not really sure. Is there anything you want that I could offer?"

"As a human? Well, lets see…" The girl narrowed her eyes, looking at me up and down. "What did you do to get in here?"

"Well, those friends I mentioned earlier, they did some stupid things. I got caught up in it and ended up here. Fairly boring story."

"Who are these friends? What aren't they here?"

"They went to their dorm."

"Oh, they're boys," the girl said in realisation. I only just noticed the other vampires had formed a sort of circle around us, as if we were about to begin some sort of fistfight. This thought scared me, considering this girl could probably knock my head off my neck in one punch. My eyes travelled back to the girl pinned to the wall. She also beautiful, but in a childish, classic way. She had long blonde hair that looked as if it had been clawed at and light blue eyes. She wasn't crying, but it was obvious she was in pain, and gritting her teeth, trying not to show it. She looked very young, perhaps no more than thirteen (meaning she was fifty or sixty).

"Clarissa, hurry up," one girl standing near the front of the mob moaned.

"Shut up," Clarissa snapped. She turned on me, and grinned in an evil you-are-going-to-regret-this grin. Great. "I've decided what I want. But you're boyfriends will need to help too."

"They're just friends, but let's not get into that. Help with what?"

"I can't tell you now, but you need to promise."

"You really think I'm going to go into a open ended promise with a vampire? Are you insane? Sorry, we've already proven you are. I should rephrase. Do you think I'm insane?"

"Well, it's that, or you get to join little Emma," Clarissa said, looking down at her nails as if she was disinterested. I gritted my teeth.

"Fine," I said coldly.

"Great," Clarissa grinned again. "You can take her down, Mary." All the girls then turned away from me, suddenly bored with the human before them. I watched as they roughly pulled the pins from Emma's hands making her thud to the floor. A bell rang and suddenly the dorm cleared very quickly. Eventually it was just me and Emma left. I walked to her and held out my hand. She was still on the floor, clutching at her feet with bloody hands.

"Do you need help?" I asked softly.

"Are you completely clueless?" Emma looked up at me, her face a mixture of pain and anger. "You know that now you've screwed everything up for me _and_ you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked. Emma stood, ignoring my hand, and turned on me.

"Let's just say your time here is going to be even less pleasant than mine," she said acidly. She turned and limped away, out the door, following the other girls. I stood stunned and irritated. So much for thanks. I collected my bags and found the door that led to another corridor and more rooms. Surprisingly, everyone had their own room. I found an empty one and dumped my stuff on the bed, committing the door number to memory. I wondered what the bell meant and knew I probably should be going somewhere. Honestly, I didn't care. I was tired from the rough night in the car. I unpacked some of my stuff and lay down on the bed. I closed my eyes, just for a moment, and before I knew it I was asleep.

When I woke, I decided I shouldn't have. Because standing above me were some very pretty, tough looking vampires with knives. And last time I checked, this was a bad situation to be in.


	3. Chapter 3 Audrey

Chapter 3 – Audrey

Chapter 3 – Audrey

If there's one thing I hate about vampires, it's the way they always do things quickly and thoroughly.

And these girls weren't mucking around. They were deadly serious. Key word in that sentence: deadly.

"So human," I saw Clarissa say as she stood at the foot of my bed, perched on the end like a cat. "How are we feeling tonight? You missed dinner."

"I suppose," I answered, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. Wow, I must've slept for a while.

"Let's go for a walk, shall we?" It wasn't a question. Sure, there was question mark, but it wasn't a question. It was a challenge. Brilliant. So this is what I get for helping someone. Yes, I've learnt my lesson.

"You mind if I invite some friends?" I asked casually as possible considering the situation I was in. Clarissa looked at me and grinned.

"You know what? Sure. Why don't we pick up your little friends on the way," Clarissa said, grabbing my ankle and pulling me up as she stood on her toes on the end of my bed. I decided to tell her that my friends weren't so little. I let out a scream as I was hoisted to an inverted position above the floor beside my bed, Clarissa's tight grip on my ankle. Yes, I was being held upside down from my ankle by a vampire. Can my life get any better?

"As surprising or unsurprising as this may seem, Clarissa, but I'm actually very uncomfortable," I said calmly, crossing my arms over my chest as my hair obscured my view. "I was also wondering what time it was."

"Just after twelve," Clarissa laughed.

"That would explain why it's dark outside," I mentioned. I felt Clarissa jump, with me still in her hand and land beside my bed. I also felt the impact my head had with the floor. I groaned as Clarissa said,

"Opps, sorry," and lifted me a little higher. She so wasn't sorry. And it so wasn't an accident.

"Did I mention how uncomfortable I am?" I asked when Clarissa began to walk somewhere. I still couldn't see because of my hair. Personally I was just glad I was fully dressed.

The other three girls who had been around my bed were following silently. It was very obvious who was in control here. We walked for a while before coming to a door. I heard a knock, only barely, considering all the blood rushing to my head and pounding in my ears, then we entered the room. The pressure on my ankle was suddenly released and I fell, hard, on the ground.

"Ow," I muttered, trying to bring myself to a sitting position. When the world had stopped spinning I noticed my surroundings. It was the same plain room as mine, only everything was inverted. It took me a while to realise this was just some other girl's room – most likely Clarissa's – and I was wondering if I was about to be thrown over the balcony or something. Apparently not, because instead, all the vampires moved away from me, forming a half circle around me. This included Clarissa. I looked up to where they are all looking and sighed. Another vamp. I pointedly ignored her.

"What about my friends?" I asked.

"What rooms are they in? We'll collect them," Clarissa said, looking bored.

"I don't know. I assume they're in the boys dorm."

"Well, I guess that's just bad luck then." Wow, I really hated that girl.

"Tell me, does the bitch gene come with the whole vampire thing, or is it acquired through the my-parents-hate-me saga you no doubt pull every so often to get their attention?" I looked up at Clarissa with an innocent expression. Her teeth gritted at my words (obviously I'd hit a nerve – I was right about my earlier predictions) and her fists clenched. In a lightning fast movement I hardly saw, her fist connected my face and I wasn't sitting up anymore. I was face down on the floor, the world spinning and my head throbbing so loudly I was fairly sure it would wake up the girls in the rooms next door.

"Cool it, will you, Clarissa," came a cool voice I hadn't heard before. It was full of authority and power. Acidity and a cold command dominated too. Control radiated out if it. I turned my head and decided that was a mistake. Especially considering I couldn't see anything through the white spots appearing in my eyes anyway. I was going to have a kick ass bruise tomorrow.

"You said to bring her," Clarissa whinged. Oh great, this other girl must be some sort of higher power. Just what I needed.

"I didn't tell you to kill her."

"She isn't dead," Clarissa muttered sulkily.

"Yeah, and you're lucky for that. Now, I'll deal with her-"

"You'll set her straight?" Clarissa cut in. I didn't like the sound of that. There was a pause. It was evident that the higher power didn't like being interrupted. Clarissa muttered a soft apology and the higher power continued.

"Yes. She won't be causing anyone anymore problems. Now, go, before you girls are the ones with problems. And they'll be from me." There was some scuttling and I heard the door open and close. The spots in my eyes began to clear up, but I stayed face down on the floor. My head was throbbing.

The higher power waited for a few moments, which I was glad for. I wasn't ready for the 'setting straight' part. I just wanted Jack and Mitch. I wanted to go home. I hated this. Then I felt arms around me and I cringed unintentionally.

"Don't worry," the smooth voice said. All the cool command and dark power was gone. It was replaced with serenity and concern. "It'll be okay. I'm here to help."

"Huh?" I mumbled. Arms came around my waist as the floor lifted off me (was the world upside down?) and a felt something soft beneath me. A bed?

"It's okay. You rest. I'll find your friends."

And the world went dark.


	4. Chapter 4 Friends with benefits

Chapter 4 – Leo

Chapter 4 – Friends With Benefits

If there's one thing I envy about vampires, it's that annoying ability they have of not really having to deal with the human weaknesses. And this fact became more and more obvious the more time I spent in Wicker's. Damn vampires.

"Jess," a hushed voice whispered softly, stroking my hair. "Jess. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm really sorry. I promise I'll never do anything so stupid again." That had to be Jack. The ever sensitive, cute, promise-you-every-thing-with-the-best-intentions-and-senerity-but-never-deliver Jack. And only Jack would stroke my hair so lovingly.

"You're pathetic, Jack. It was just a knock to the head. She'll be fine." And that would be Mitch. The ever cocky, arrogant, insensitive, carefree Mitch.

"It was a fairly hard knock. I'm surprised she stayed conscious for as long as she did." And that was the higher power. I wasn't sure if I wanted to open my eyes yet. I was totally cool with being held by Jack for a little longer.

"She's awake," I heard Mitch say. Damn those super powered vampires. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. "I saw you move, Jess. I know you're awake. Now stop milking the I'm-a-poor-little-defenceless-human thing and open your eyes."

"Gee, sympathy just oozes from you doesn't it," I muttered, opening my eyes to the soft light. Mitch was leaning against the wall of the small dorm room, one hand in his pocket, in that carefree I-own-the-world stance. Jack was sitting on my bed, one hand in my hair, the other on my stomach. His touch relieved me.

And then, I saw the higher power.

She was beautiful. Amazingly beautiful. I was jealous immediately.

"Hi. I'm Audrey," she said with a smile. She was African-American with a deep, dark mesmerising voice that lifted up and down like she was singing everything she said. She couldn't have been any older than seventeen (in vampire years somewhere between seventy and eighty). Her skin was a light coffee colour and perfectly smooth.

Again, I hated her (thinking about my oily skin). The black hair that fell from her head and tumbled down her shoulders was so black I could almost see the purple glint in it. Me, I was always tiring my hair up, hating the way it flicked in my face when I wore it down. It was obvious Audrey wore it down all the time. And it looked perfect on her.

She had almond shaped eyes, a small nose and very carefully carved lips, a deep mocha colour. Her eyes were a chestnut brown and the lashes that surrounded them were so long I don't think it should've been legal. I wasn't sure what I hated more – the jealousy I was infused with, or Audrey herself.

She wore a loose fitting T-shirt with a band name on it that I didn't know. Her jeans fitted snugly, showing off her perfectly long legs, and cutting off at the hips to show a sliver of a taunt dark stomach before covering up with the T-shirt. She had her hands in her jean pockets, leaning back on the desk on the far wall with her head turned towards me.

"Right, the one who brought me here to 'set me straight'. Have I got it right?" I said sarcastically. I tried to sit, but the room spun and Jack had to catch me before I fell off the bed.

"I'm sorry about Clarissa, but she thinks I'm some evil goddess and she worships me. I saw the assault you received from her in the common room and new you were in for hell. So I got her to bring you here."

"To do what exactly?" Jack was distracting me with the way he was playing with my hair. I swatted him away.

"Well, I was just going to talk to you. Tell you that you need to act scared of her and me. Don't step out of line. Do what she and I say. You know the drill. Just act like I'd scared the hell out of you so she'd stop bothering you." She rolled her eyes as if Clarissa was the most childish thing on earth.

"You weren't going to hurt me?" I asked, surprised. Jack was now trying to get me drink something. "Stop it, Jack." He huffed at me and slunk down.

"God, no," Audrey said with a smile. "Clarissa just worships me because she thinks I broke into nightclub and set up an illegal vampire party. She thinks I'm a huge rebel. Therefore, the worshipping. I'm sort of their unofficial leader."

"I still don't see how I should trust you."

"Look, Clarissa is a childish rebel who thinks she's really bad, but mostly she's all talk. Even so, she's had a rough time with her family. It was sort why she hit you. If you'd kept your mouth shut she wouldn't have. Anyway, she isn't a leader, she needs one. And I've given her one. Even if I'm not such a rebel. I really just pissed off my parents by running away one time. Not so rebellious." Audrey laughed her musical laugh and looked back at me. "Look," she said seriously, "I'm just trying to help. Otherwise Clarissa will give you hell. That's one thing I can promise."

"So what now?" I asked.

"Well, she should leave you alone now – but only because I told her to. Just pretend I beat you or whatever and act scared. She should leave you alone after that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Like I said, she thinks I'm an evil goddess." Audrey winked at me. "She'll do as I tell her."

"Oh." I nodded. So Audrey was on my side. "Can I sit up now?" I asked. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mitch take a step forward, but he saw that Jack already had his arms around me and leaned back against the wall. See, even if Mitch pretended he didn't care, he did. Jack took my weight as I sat up, putting my feet on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

"I'm fine," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm not as fragile as you think."

"Um, earth to Jess," Mitch said, "Yeah, you are. You're human. You're more fragile than you think."

"Whatever," I muttered, knowing that he was right. "How did you two get past the guard anyway?"

"Um…" Audrey began with an embarrassed smile. "There is one guard who… well, let's just say he doesn't mind doing small favours for me every now and then." She laughed. "Not without compensation, of course." I looked to Jack, who shrugged slightly. To be honest, I think he was just as, if not more, awed by Audrey. I began to stand, letting Jack take most of my weight.

"Look, I'll take her back-"

"No, I'll take her back to her room," Audrey said, cutting Mitch off. "You two should be right to get back by yourselves." Audrey moved to me, taking one arm and slinging it over her shoulder. Jack looked uneasy for a moment before he let me go. I was annoyed at him. Why didn't he stick up for me?

"Well, see you, Jess," Jack said, kissing my forehead. "Try not to get yourself killed by morning."

"Yeah, great," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice as I rolled my eyes.

"I wouldn't want to miss that sarcasm for anything," Mitch said with a grin. I expected him to tickled me or hit me over the head (just for good measure) but instead he walked to me and leaned forward, wrapping one arm around my waist and putting his head near my neck. Then he whispered in my ear, "You really scared us, loser." Then he and Jack slipped out. I was so surprised at what Mitch had just done (so uncharacteristic for him) that I didn't hear Audrey. I mean, Mitch wasn't the soft type. Not at all. He was all arrogance and attitude. Jack was the sweet one.

"Jess?" Audrey echoed.

"Huh?" I asked, snapping back to reality.

"I said we're going now," Audrey smiled. We moved forward, out the door and into the corridor. "Don't worry," she said. "I'd be stunned if I had both those boys slobbering over me too."

"Huh?" Step back.

"You know," Audrey grinned. "Jack being so unbearably sweet and Mitch being so unbearably egotistical. I get it."

"No," I laughed (almost at the hysterical stage). "Trust me. You don't."

"Oh, really? You're telling me that there's nothing going on between you and them."

"No way!" I said, just a little too loud. Audrey looked alarmed for a second before she relaxed.

"I'm surprised," she said.

"Why?" I asked. She shrugged.

"I just assumed you guys were…" She paused.

"Friends with benefits?" I finished.

"Something like that," she smiled.

"Nope," I shook my head. "I just grew up with both Mitch and Jack around, you know. They're sort of like my unofficial brothers." And that was true. Jack was just affectionate, because that was who he was. And Mitch was just egotistical because that was who he was. There were no 'benefits' going on at all. AT ALL.

"Oh," Audrey nodded. We were nearing my room door.

"Look, I wanted to thank you. You know. For not being a bitch.'

"Sure," Audrey laughed. "No probs." She left me at my door. "Now remember to lock your door. And the first bell tomorrow is to wake up. The second for breakfast. The third is for the first period of the day."

"Classes," I groaned.

"Yup. And just remember what I told you. Act scared and you'll be fine." Audrey patted me on the shoulder and smiled. For some reason I was reassured.

"Thanks," I said again.

"That's cool. I'll see you tomorrow. And don't forget, I hate you." She grinned, and then was gone, disappearing into the darkness my human eyes couldn't penetrate.

I entered my room and locked the door. My alarm clock said it was 2:30. great. Not only was tomorrow my first day of classes with the freaks of Wicker's, but I was going to have mild sleep deprivation. I think I hate Clarissa.


	5. Chapter 5 Breakfast

Chapter 5 – Breakfast

If there's one thing I knew about vampires is that they needed way less sleep then humans. Sure, they still needed sleep, just not as much. Humans, needed sleep. I needed sleep.

The bell rung, and light slitted through my eyes. I groaned and rolled over. But someone threw my door open the noise of many psychotic female vampires didn't help my sleep case.

I got up slowly and painfully; my head really hurt. That surprised me a little, well, until I looked in the mirror. I had a small cut above my right eyebrow with a slight purple colour, but you know how you see people who've been hit with the huge bruises under their eyes because that's where the blood ended up – yeah, well that happened to me. I groaned loudly and made a sulky sound.

"Don't worry," I heard a voice say from behind me. I spun, seeing the figure in my doorway. "It doesn't look so bad."

"Yeah, well, I don't heal as fast as you guys," I told the brunette vampire standing in my doorway.

"Why? How long does it take you to heal?" Clarissa asked, looking smug.

"This," I pointed to my face, "will take at least a week to clear up. The cut will take longer."

"Ha," Clarissa looked surprised, satisfied and amused, all at the same time. I think I despised this little brown-headed rebel.

"What do you want?" I asked, turning back to my dresser and brushing my hair.

"I'm here to give you your timetable. And take you to breakfast."

"How kind of you," I muttered. I saw Clarissa's reflection move towards me and place a sheet of paper on the dresser beside me. I dropped my hairbrush and picked up the schedule.

There were six periods a day, with two lunch breaks. Today, being Wednesday, I had Latin and Greek first two periods, maths and science second two, and finally I had English and self defence. It was sort of like school, only worse. At school I'd been doing physics, chemistry, maths, biology, English and English literature. They'd had French and German as the two languages we could choose from, but not Latin or Greek. I'd always wanted to learn (it was a big part of vampire history), thinking it'd be cool, but at Wicker's I had a feeling it was just going to be a lot of hard work.

Over the week my classes consisted mostly of maths, science, English and self defence – I had at least one period of those four subjects a day – and other electives included things like: food technology, geography, sport, economics, physiology, history, wood technology and art.

This annoyed me no end, mostly because I hated all subjects except science and maths. I read a lot too, so I didn't mind English. But anything mildly creative and I was screwed – I couldn't write, draw, sew, paint, or anything similar. Humanities subjects were also a huge downfall for me – simply because they bored the crap out of me. Food and wood technology just didn't work with me. Sport is included in this topic because I'm so hopelessly uncoordinated. I really think I was going to hate this school (if it could be called that).

"Come on already. I know humans are slow, but please," Clarissa moaned.

"All right," I said, frustrated, "I'm coming. Cool your head, would you."

"Excuse me." Clarissa's hand was a lot faster than my eyes could comprehend and suddenly it was at my throat. Great, another bruise. And squeezing. If only gently, it was still enough to irritate and scare me. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," I choked out. "I'm sorry."

"Good," Clarissa said, giving my neck another light squeeze and letting me go. I took a deep breath and coughed. "Humans," she muttered with an eye roll and left the room. This sucks.

Breakfast was probably one of the most horrible experiences I've ever been through. But first I had to survive just getting there with Clarissa as my guide. Walking through the millions of corridors I asked,

"So how come they're so lenient with security and stuff?" I asked.

"They're not," Clarissa answered.

"But there wasn't any metal detectors or anything, they didn't even look in our bags."

"God, you humans are so stupid," Clarissa muttered. I was only mildly offended. "They don't need to check your bags or bodies because they can smell anything suspicious from a mile away. The guards are trained like that."

"Like sniffer dogs," I put in.

"No," Clarissa said rudely, still walking and not looking at me. "Like vampires." Okay then. Whatever you say, girl.

"But then, how come they didn't notice the crucifixion thing with…" I paused, remembering the girl's name. "…Emma."

"Because, all the walls are sound proofed. And we learn how to get around the guards. It isn't so hard when you know the tricks," Clarissa answered easily, sounding bored. Right, of course. This place was more like a school than I prison, I decided.

"What about Reed?" I asked. That's when Clarissa's eyes darted towards me.

"Director Reed," Clarissa corrected.

"Yeah, whatever," I answered.

"What about him?" she asked.

"I don't know. What's with him?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, is he strict? Lenient? Smart? Stupid? You know, what kind of teacher is he?"

"Mostly, smart. Very smart. He always just seems to know when someone or something has gone down, and he's on site. Just what he does. And he's strict. Evil." Clarissa shuddered, and it made me smile. She wasn't so scary. She was just like a little kid. "Well, this is it," Clarissa told me, stopping in front of a double door. She opened one and held it for me.

I entered, and my mouth dropped. The dining hall was massive. And I mean, massive. There were eight long metal tables with benches either side. On the right side sat the boys, and on the left, sat the girls, so they were facing each other. Large windows lined the cream coloured walls and various dents and marks were covered up by hastily painted brush strokes.

It was loud, noisy and boisterous. Guards paced beside the tables with menacing postures, but didn't have any weapons, nor did they speak or provoke as I'd expected. Everyone there had trained their eyes on me as soon as I entered the room. It was my scent. Fairly obvious I was human. Damn genetics.

The vampires were all eating normal type food, not surprising since they needed normal food just as humans did, but each one had a goblet of deep red liquid. They also needed blood to sustain them. The whispers were disconcerting, but I mostly ignored it and searched the room for Jack or Mitch. They were sitting at one of the middle tables. I walked to it, and sat opposite the two of them. I noticed that Clarissa had left to sit with some of her friends.

"Gee babe, that bruise looks awesome," Mitch chimed in.

"Thanks Mitch, always the vote of confidence," I muttered. He grinned.

"It doesn't look so bad," Jack told me with a reassuring smile.

"You know you're a really bad liar, don't you, Jack," I said. He looked hurt for a moment then said,

"Fine, you look like crap."

"I love being friends with vampires," I said sarcastically.

"Are you going to get anything to eat?" Mitch asked. I saw that both he and Jack had metal trays with various portions of terrible looking food. Their drink sat beside them. It was red. I watched as the condensation formed on the outside of the glass and dripped onto the table, leaving wet rings as they lifted the glass and put it back down.

"I guess, where is the food?" I asked.

"Front table," Jack pointed. People were still staring and watching and whispering. I hated it. I wasn't exactly scared (hanging out with vampires generally stopped the whole fear thing) but I was annoyed. Gee, hadn't these kids ever seen a human before. Then, the shift of focus changed, from me, to the entrance. I turned my head too. Jack was staring, but Mitch was looking disinterested (as he usually did).

Audrey stood at the doors like a portrait. I'm fairly sure the little plaque underneath the frame would say one simple word: beauty. Damn her. If I imagined myself in a portrait, the plaque would read something like: stupid impulsive human.

Audrey entered the room, sun glinting off her sleek black hair and perfect chocolate brown skin. She walked with such confidence; it was as if she were gliding along, inspecting her subjects. She weaved around the tables, and (unfortunately) was making her way towards me. She definitely held the power at Wicker's. That much was clear. But from what I'd seen last night, it was also clear that it was all an act. Her long strides led her to me, and she stood next to the chair I'd taken, head held high, looking over her own beautifully crafted cheek bones to see me cowering (well, not really, I wasn't scared of her) below her.

"Get up," she said in the silky voice that was full of a little too much license.

"I wa-"

"Get up," she interrupted with venom. Obviously I wasn't supposed to talk back. I was supposed to follow. I stood, slowly, throwing glances at Jack and Mitch. Jack looked worried, brow creased. Mitch, on the other hand, was leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head, looking Audrey up and down with an appraising eye. I rolled my eyes at him and he shrugged with a smirk. "Follow me."

"Since you asked so nicely," I muttered. I seriously heard the intake of breath the whole dining hall made in unison. And for the second time this morning, my throat was held by a vampiric hand.

"Whether I ask nicely or not, isn't the matter at hand. It's whether I ask at all," Audrey said. She brought me close to her face, and I really did hate her in that moment. She said she was on my side. Why was I so stupid to actually trust her? She was a vampire after all (well, discount Mitch and Jack, because I did trust them). Then, she winked at me with a small smile, reassuring me, before letting me go. I dropped under my own weight and landed heavily on the floor. Freaking melodramatic vampires.

I followed Audrey as she made her way to the front of the room. There, she handed me a metal tray and began walking down the line of the food counter. She took whatever the vampire cooks served without much change in her expression. I tried to copy, but failed when I actually saw what was dumped on my plate.

"Just a question," I asked one of the cooks, "is this stuff safe for humans?"

The cook didn't answer. He gave me a blank look that said, 'get the hell out of my face or I'll kill you'. Yes, I could get that much from one look. "Okay," I said and moved away quickly.

Once Audrey and I had gotten our food, she took me back to my place opposite Mitch and Jack. She sat first, and then gestured for me to sit. I did. It was still fairly silent and all eyes were on us. Audrey must have a pretty awesome reputation. I looked over to Clarissa. She had a huge grin on her face. What was wrong with that girl? Did she get pleasure out of seeing people being tortured? (Actually, thinking about the Emma situation, that wouldn't surprise me.)

"Let me see your timetable," Audrey ordered. I dug it out of my jean pocket and placed it in front of her. She looked at it and said,

"I'm in your home room."

"Home room?"

"Yeah, the core subjects. Maths, science, English and self defence."

"Oh."

"Just wait till you meet Leo," Audrey smiled, losing her bitch disposition for two seconds.

"Who's Leo?"

"Our homeroom mentor. He teaches us for all our core subjects."

"So?" I asked.

"So, he's gorgeous."

"He's also a vampire," I mentioned.

"Well, I guess that's a problem for you." Audrey shrugged. She began eating, slipping back into her rebel character. I looked to Mitch and Jack, who both shrugged in unison.

"Losers," I said under my breath. I felt someone kick me softly (well, it was going to leave a bruise, but for a vampire it was soft) under the table. Who it was I didn't know. I glared at both on them anyway, and then turned to my food.

But before I could eat I felt a pair of eyes on me, as though I was being watched. Sure, the chatter had begun again, but I turned anyway. I scanned my eyes over the tables. I saw quite a few vampires pretending not to look at me, and few others who had no problem giving me strange looks. But I did recognise one face.

Theo. He looked right at me and smiled, his South American features exploding in that cute way some people had of animating their faces with one smile. I smiled back, uneasy, and turned away. I wasn't sure if Theo staring at me was a good or bad thing.

He watched her from his position in the dining hall.

She was beautiful.

Human, but more beautiful than she could ever know.

If only she could see how much he wanted her.

How much he needed her.

How much he cared about her.

But this wasn't like him.

He hated to be dependant.

To be insecure.

This lusting thing didn't suit him.

It wasn't him.

Girls wanted him.

They didn't push him away.

Not like she had.

He couldn't deal with it.

And he hated himself for it.

No girl had ever made him feel insignificant.

Unsure.

He was confident and in control.

Around her, he wasn't.

He wished he could be.

But every time he tried it failed miserably.

Failing didn't suit him either.

He'd have her.


End file.
